New Anchor Alarm.

[noelex 77]

I am a fan of always setting a GPS anchor alarm.

I saw this product recently. Details are bit sketchy it appears to attach to the anchor and uses sound waves to detect the anchors movement.

For $3000 it is overpriced, given that a well set GPS alarm will reliably detect a pretty small drag, but maybe we will see much cheaper, similar, products in the future.


Deep Blue Marine USA - Anchor Alert - Anchor alarm and monitoring system

[boatman61]

Sigh....
Another anchor alarm thread...
Some folks just have no sense of 'FUN'

[noelex 77]

This was yesterday.
Great fun, but maybe only for the people watching, not participating

[boatman61]

LOLOL... gotta love Sunsail and Moorings.... better than the Disney Channel....

[capngeo]

There's an App for that..... Several actually

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by capngeo

There's an App for that..... Several actually

yes zillions of apps. But without a personal recommendation about what works I am not shelling out 2c let alone $5

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

LOLOL... gotta love Sunsail and Moorings.... better than the Disney Channel....

+1!

[monte]

I use anchor watch on my iphone. Its excellent. I find it much better than opencpn. You can adjust the position and swing. It also download the google map of the area so you can see exactly your position.
My routine now is..walk to the bow and press the drop anchor button as we drop it.
Add distance of chain/bridle and distance to my berth where the phone sits in the charger plus a few meters fro inaccuracy. Now as long as we are anchored I can sleep well and just open one eye to peek at the display if I think we have moved.
Obviously if theres any concern I take a real look, but I find the app is really helpful and so far no bugs or false alarms. I've been using it for about a year so probably 150 times. you can also set it to send an email or text to a phone number if it detects you have dragged if you want to go ashore with another phone to recieve the txt/mail.

[zeehag]

i love the ones who turn on their anchor alarm then leave boat at anchor .. on rope rode....

your pic of the sunsail folks attempting anchoring is exactly like the baja haha souls who suddenly have to anchor and dont know how....fun to watch, as long as it isnt your anchor they drag up.....

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by monte

I use anchor watch on my iphone. Its excellent. I find it much better than opencpn. You can adjust the position and swing. It also download the google map of the area so you can see exactly your position.
...
I've been using it for about a year so probably 150 times. you can also set it to send an email or text to a phone number if it detects you have dragged if you want to go ashore with another phone to recieve the txt/mail.

Did you ever drag and got an alarm? Or did you ever tested it actually dragging the anchor?
Without a negative testing (having the anchoring fail), we don't really know how good it actually is on a real situation.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Did you ever drag and got an alarm? Or did you ever tested it actually dragging the anchor?
Without a negative testing (having the anchoring fail), we don't really know how good it actually is on a real situation.

For a conventional GPS alarm to test just let out a bit more rode. Providing the wind is strong enough to to reasonably straighten out the additional chain the alarm should sound.
This will give you an accurate idea of the sensitivity.

[montenido]

Zee,
As a participant in the upcoming Baja-Haha, I now have something else to worry about. Dragging anchors will be added to crossing my bow at night, not establishing a watch, intoxicated sailing, etc. I plan to give others a wide berth on the way, but I am really looking forward to heading south. If you are still around maybe we will cross paths.

Cheers, Bill

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by monte

I use anchor watch on my iphone. Its excellent. .

Which program do you use? Whats the name of it?


Thanks,


Mark

[tartansail]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Which program do you use? Whats the name of it?


Thanks,


Mark

I use Drag Queen on my phone. It's free, or, at least, it was. I set it on the bow when I release the anchor and then set the swing distance based on how much rode I'm letting out. I haven't had the anchor drag (see any of a zillion "My new anchor is perfect" threads. ), but I have had the alarm go off when the swing went beyond the radius I set. I woke up very quickly. The only downside is that the app seems to keep the phone actively sampling GPS and, therefore, uses up juice pretty quickly during the night. My remedy is to keep it plugged in and all is good.

[monte]

its this one
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/anch...389011510?mt=8
and its worth the 99 c !
and yes ive tested it often. usually when I forget to turn it off and the alarm goes off as im leaving the anchorage (within a few seconds)
also sometimes ive been a bit tight with the scope ive allowed and its gone off. I check all is OK and adjust to suit. Also if I forget to set it before I drop anchor I can estimate its position and touch the screen to place it. Occasionally I dont get it right and it goes off. I just check to make sure its not dragging and reset it in the correct position. As I said in my first post, the most acurate way is to stand above the anchor when you let it go and press the anchor alarm at the same time. Of course if it takes a few meters to set you may have to adjust it to suit. Usually I also put a waypoint on the plotter and another waypoint as I reverse at 2000rpm for a minute. I watch the plotter to make sure we stay on that waypoint, as the same time as checking landmark bearings or the seabed if possible.. with the two waypoint markes its pretty easy to double check even if we have swung 180 degrees